A pedestrian crosses the street in Boston as the temperature hovers in the single-digits. Bill Sikes | AP

Winter hasn’t been much to write home about in Minnesota in the last few years, so it’s comforting to know that our reputation is intact nonetheless.

It’s unbearably cold in Massachusetts, where, for the record, it’s snowed much more in recent winters than Minnesota.

But when it comes to cold, the nation still, apparently, knows where to turn for advice: Minnesota.

That much is revealed in the Boston Globe article offering comfort and advice to readers by reminding them they could be in colder places.

Like Duluth.

Duluth native Rob Hedburg, 26, said Thursday that for him, “It’s just been a matter of trying to limit your time outside.’’ Duluth was at 70 straight hours of subzero temperatures until Wednesday night.

“Today, it finally did get above zero with the warmer weather — and I’ll use that term loosely.” said Hedburg, an administrative assistant at Visit Duluth. He makes sure to dress in layers and leave as little skin unprotected as possible.

Hedburg did manage to see one silver lining to the cold weather.

“One upside is that there isn’t snowfall, so the roads are generally clear and easy to drive on, but sometimes you’re willing to put up with the snow if it doesn’t mean freezing,” Hedburg said.

On Wednesday, Boston will set a record with the longest stretch of sub-20-degree weather since 1872.

About the blogger

Bob Collins has been with Minnesota Public Radio since 1992, emigrating to Minnesota from Massachusetts. He was senior editor of news in the ’90s, ran MPR’s political unit, created the MPR News regional website, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started several blogs, and every day laments that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.

NewsCut is a blog featuring observations about the news. It provides a forum for an online discussion and debate about events that might not typically make the front page. NewsCut posts are not news stories.